Meaning & Origins

Apparently modelled on Laurence, this was first used, or at any rate first brought to public attention, by the film actress Lauren Bacall (b. 1924 as Betty Jean Perske), famous for her partnership with Humphrey Bogart. They appeared together in several films, notably To Have and Have Not (1943) and The Big Sleep (1946). The name was extremely popular throughout the 1990s. See also Loren.